Fresh off winning the New York State Women's Amateur title, Williamsville native Lily Zhang doesn't feel any pressure heading into her second Porter Cup appearance at Niagara Falls Country Club.

"I think I don't really have any expectations. I just think that if I believe in my game and trust every shot, that I will be fine," said Zhang, a sophomore at Nichols School. "This course is very straightforward. The conditions are very nice. The greens roll really smoothly. The fairways are very clean, and I would say this atmosphere makes it a great place."

Tournament director Marty Schimmel says since the Women's Porter Cup debuted in 2013, this year's competition will field the most local female golfers in the 10-year history. Zhang gets to stay at home with her family this week as she competes.

"It's about a 30-minute drive and my dad is going to caddie for me,” Zhang said. “He usually caddies for me if any tournament allows caddies. And I would say the support from my local country club, Park Country Club, also means a lot to me being so close to home. So that's a great advantage. I probably know around half of them from around Western New York, AJGA and other state tournaments. So I have a pretty close relationship with some of them and it'll be really nice to play with them and just get to know them even more."

As talented as Zhang is on the greens, she insists that the sport remains a hobby for her.

"I would say I like school a lot,” Zhang said. “I like to read. I like to do math. I like to learn about history. I also when I feel like golf for me is more like a hobby. I like to practice it a lot. And when I hit golf balls, I just can't stop. So I think from a young age, just learning that habit of hard work really helped my drive and know that golf is just a part of my life."

Part of life is also celebrating your 15th birthday after taking home your biggest trophy yet.

"Winning the state amateur right before my birthday was a really good gift for myself," Zhang said. "Obviously, I think my 15th birthday was a lot more fun now because we went to Darian Lake and had a good time."